Three Lochs Trail reborn

In Victorian times, tourists (who could afford to) were able to leave the grime of Glasgow behind and travel by steamship around Loch Long, Loch Lomond and Loch Katrine, with overland connections between them being made by horse and cart. Come to think of it, things are much the same now, as so-called green and environmental taxes force up the cost of a “wee run”, and the hills and lochs return to being the playthings of the rich, but that’s another story.

Since then, the route has been lost as the steamers ceased to sail, and the piers that serviced them fell into disuse, and were left to rot and decay. Most are now little more than wooden stumps breaking the surface of the water, with only a few having been retained and modernised for used by modern pleasure craft.

The Maid of the Loch served on Loch Lomond from 1953 until 1981, when falling visitor numbers, and dreadful management, led to her withdrawal from service. Passing through the hands of various owners, she lay rusting and vandalised at Balloch until the Loch Lomond Steamship Company was established and took ownership of the ship in 1996, since when she has been slowly restored by volunteers, and is nearing completion in 2008, with work finally underway on her engines, possibly the last major task to be completed, bar approval to operate on the loch with passengers.

The steamer Sir Walter Scott, normally found on Loch Katrine, is currently currently completing major refurbishment works too, in readiness for return to service on the loch, modified to use biodiesel rather than coal. Never converted to conventional diesel, this steamer continued to use coal, as this would not pollute the waters of Loch Katrine in the event of an accident and fuel spill, as the loch supplies much of Glasgow’s water.

Mention has also been made of the paddle steamer Waverley becoming involved, as it operates on routes from Glasgow to some loch-side communities.

For the revived tour, tourists would depart from Glasgow and travel down the Clyde to Arrochar by steamship, then walk or cycle to Tarbet (1.5 miles), and take a ferry trip on Loch Lomond to Inversnaid. A further walk or cycle to meet the SS Sir Walter Scott to sail down Loch Katrine, with a special coach to take them to Callander or Stirling to catch a return train back home.

Plans are already underway to raise funding for pontoon jetties at Lochgoilhead and Arrochar, to replace the old and unsafe wooden piers. The Lochgoilhead jetty is estimated at £250,000 while the Arrochar structure is £500,000. Arrochar will be able to receive vessels up to 200 tonnes while the Lochgoilhead’s capacity will be 100 tonnes.

Work on the 65-mile long trail project is hoped to be completed in 2009.